Blog14_Earthquake in South Pacific triggers deadly Tsunami

A powerful 8.3-magnitude earthquake struck in the South Pacific between Samoa and American Samoa and triggered a tsunami that destroyed villages and killed and injured almost 100 people.

The earthquake took place on Tuesday (17:48 GMT) between the two island groups, generating waves of up to 15ft (4.5m).The exact number of casualty is still unknown but the Samoan authority believes that casualty will rise as more injured people arrive from coastal areas.

The Samoa islands consist of two separate entities – the nation of Samoa and American Samoa, a US territory, with a total population of about 250 000 people.

Eni Faleomavaega, who represents American Samoa in the US told BBC that the disaster had caused severe damage to property.

“Some of the areas here are only a few feet above sea level, so you can imagine the devastation.” he said. “The waves had literally wiped out all the low-lying areas in the Samoan islands.”

Similar to the disaster in 2004 that happened in Asia, this tsunami had hit the islands within a few minutes of the earthquake, leaving no time for effective warnings or escapes.

“It was very quick. The whole village has been wiped out,” New Zealander Graeme Ansell told the New Zealand National Radio from a hill near Samoa’s capital, Apia. “There’s not a building standing.” He said.

Among the dead, several of them are believed to be foreign tourists.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued an alert from American Samoa to numerous islands in the Pacific, including the Samoas, the Cook Islands, Tonga, Fiji, New Zealand, French Polynesia and Palmyra Island.

To watch an i-Reporter's video clip of the aftermath, click on the snapshot or here. For more pictures, click here

Blog 10_Sydney disappeared in red dust

Sydneysiders woke up today to find their city wrapped around by a thick dust storm.

"I'm 72 years old and I've never seen that in my life before," a Sydney resident said.

Barry Hanstrum, Bureau of Meteorology regional director, also told The Sunday Morning Herald that
it is very usual to see a thick blanket covering such a large area of New South Wales.

"More than half the state at midday today is under this cloud and the dust is starting to spread north and east and is likely to affect parts of Queensland as well in the next 24 hours" Hanstrum said.

The dust blanket has been carried by powerful winds that snatched up tons of topsoil from the drought-ravaged west of the state. On Tuesday morning, Sydney's air pollution levels has been pushed up to 1500 times their normal levels and raised some health concerns. A surge in calls from people suffering from breathing problems was reported. Children and elderly are advised to stay home.

The dust storm has caused inconvenience to both local residents and tourists; traffic has been severely affected and Sydney's landmarks, including the Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge have been completely obscured.

The BBC reports that it had been a difficult 24 hours for Australia as the country suffered from earthquakes in Victoria state, hail storms in parts of New South Wales and bushfire in northern Queensland, causing numerous damages.

Fortunately, the dust storm is estimated to disappear by the evening as the low pressure system over Sydney, which brought the dusty wins, moved out to the sea. Check out the video report for more details.